HUNTERS LOBBY LEGISLATURE WITH INITIATIVE IN BACK POCKET

Idaho Lawmakers Focus on Elk Farms


By Bill Schneider, 1-09-07

 
 

In the wake of the Great Elk Escape in far eastern Idaho down by Yellowstone National Park, the Idaho legislature has made the issue of game farming a priority. Several bills have already been proposed, ranging from banning "shooter bull" operations, phasing out elk ranching, prohibiting the importation of all cervids into the state, and transfer of regulatory authority from Agriculture to Fish and Game.

Meanwhile, Idaho hunters plan to stay with their current strategy of working closely with the legislature to get a good bill passed. But with hot-button issues like private property rights and agency turf in play, achieving meaningful reform might be a challenge. If lawmakers can’t give hunters an acceptable bill, they plan a ballot measure to protect Idaho's wildlife, elk hunting, and the huge economic benefits they provide to the Gem State.

“We would rather see the legislative process work,” Mark Bell, President of the Idaho Sportsman’s Caucus Advisory Council (ISCAC), said in a phone interview. “If it fails, then we’ll go forward with an initiative.”

Bell also said his group has hired a designated spokesman, Matt Compton, to lobby for them in the legislature. Game farming is going to be “a big issue” in the legislature this year, Bell predicted. “It’s being driven by the lack of regulation and lack of enforcement authority by the Dept. of Agriculture.”

Representative Rich Wills of (R-Glenns Ferry) will take a leading role in the game farming issue, according to Bell. Wills has already had one meeting among the main stakeholders and plans another one on January 30.

Senator David Langhorst (D-Boise) will also be a leader on game farm legislation, according to Compton, who calls him “the right guy for the job” because of his background in hunting and angling issues. Langhorst will be introducing a package of seven or eight bills.

Bell said media attention generated by the escape from the Nez Perce Ranch run by Rex Rammell brought game farming and canned hunt issues to the frontline, but he wanted to dispel the myth that such escapes are rare. According to his research, Idaho has had 248 escapes from elk farms in the past ten years, roughly 25 per year, most of which have gotten little media attention.

To flex its muscles, ISCAD is promoting Camo Day on January 16 at the Capital Building to show legislators the depth of support for hunting and fishing issues. Jim Posewitz, retired from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and now president of Orion: The Hunter’s Institute (which has the most apropos URL, www.huntrgiht.org) will speak at the gathering. Posewitz was a leader in passing a ballot initiative to phase out game farms and prohibit canned hunts in Montana. For more information on Camo Day, check out the ISCAC website.

Compton explained that the ISCAC is not backing any specific bill at this time but will support legislation that matches the group’s positions. Prime among those positions are the prohibition of shooter bull operations and the dismantling or phasing out of game ranching operations to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease.

Even though 30 legislators are members of the Idaho Sportsman’s Caucus, Compton suffers no illusions about any easy victory. In Montana, the legislature failed several times to pass game farm reform before hunters took the issue directly to the voters.



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Comments

By Not Fooled, 1-10-07
By Sen. David Langhorst, 1-10-07
By Erin Miller, 1-10-07
By Sen. David Langhorst, 1-10-07
By Sen. David Langhorst, 1-11-07
By Erin Miller, 1-11-07
By Casey, 1-12-07
By Casey, 1-12-07
By Erik, 1-12-07
By Erin Miller, 1-12-07
By Erik, 1-12-07
By Bill Schneider, 1-13-07
By Erik, 1-13-07
By Erin Miller, 1-18-07
By Erik, 1-18-07
By Erin Miller, 1-18-07
By Kristy, 1-18-07
By Matt Compton, ISCAC, 1-19-07
By Erin Miller, 1-19-07
By Erin Miller, 1-19-07
By Erik, 1-19-07
By Matt Compton, ISCAC, 1-19-07
By Erik, 1-19-07
By Erin Miller, 1-20-07
By bob, 2-16-07
By Joe Murt, 3-08-07
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